The Physiology of Stress - practice questions

The Physiology of Stress – Practice questions

Knowledge questions

1. Explain what is meant by the term stress (3 marks)
2. What are the two ways the body responds to stress? (3+3)
3. Explain what happens in the body after the stress has ended (3)
4. Use the phrases below to complete the diagram, so that it shows the body’s dual

response to stress (6 marks):
Stimulates the sympathetic branch of the ANS
Stimulates the adrenal cortex
Releases adrenaline and noradrenaline
Stimulates the adrenal medulla
Releases corticosteroids
Stimulates the pituitary gland to release ACTH
Hypothalamus

Physiological reactions e.g. Liver releases energy and the
increased heart rate immune system is suppressed

5. Tick the four boxes that relate to the hypothalamic-pituitary-axis (4)

Sympathetic branch of ANS
Adrenal cortex
Adrenaline
Pituitary gland
Immunosuppression
Adrenal medulla
Corticosteroids
Increased heart beat

Advice:
For these questions you simply need to identify what the question is asking and write it
down.
Highlight the keywords only.
Use the number of marks available to help you know how much to write – as a rule of
thumb, expect to write 25-30 words per mark (75-80w for these 3 mark questions, and
400-500w for a 16 mark essay)
Remember to PEEL – state your Point, Explain it and give an Example or Elaborate it.

Essay questions

6. Outline and evaluate the body’s response to stress (12)
7. Discuss research into the general adaptation syndrome (16)

Advice:
Highlight the keywords so you know which topic the essay refers to.
Think about where the A01 marks will come from in the question: Qu 6 here asks for an
outline of the body’s response, while Qu 7 asks you to outline the research – this is a crucial
distinction you MUST notice. In the box provided, jot down the key study you will use, plus
any other research that either supports or contradicts it. Note you should aim for one key
study and 2 others – no more than 3 in total.
Always PEEL – Point, Explain, Example/elaborate and Link back to the question.
Use the number of marks available to help you know how much to write – for a 16 mark
essay, you need about 400-500 words and you should allow 20 mins.
Your outline should be no more than 40% of your essay (6 marks A01, and 10 marks A02).
You should aim for 4 evaluation points, all explicitly related to the question.
Use specific terminology in every essay – vital for top band marks.

Research Methods questions

8. In an experiment into stress, researchers tested the effect of stress on heart beat. The
participants’ heart rates were first tested at resting and then tested again after
experiencing mild stress, during which they spent 20 minutes trying to solve unsolvable
anagrams.

a) i) Which experimental design is this? (1)
ii) Give one advantage and one disadvantage of this design (2+2)

b) i) What is internal validity in the context of psychological research? (2)
ii) What is meant by external validity in the context of psychological research? (2)

c) Discuss the validity of this study (5)

Advice:
Firstly, read the information you have been given and try to understand the study – picture
yourself taking part / conducting it, so you can imagine what is involved. Decide what the
study was trying to find out (the Aim…)
Underline words/phrases in the text that give you clues to answer the questions – in this
case what the design of the study was; what are your choices for “design”? What
information in the text tells you the answer?
Make sure you refer explicitly to this study if asked to do so e.g. refer to heart rates or
anagrams rather than just defining internal validity, or a strength of the design – why is it
an advantage in this study on heart rate/stress?
A ‘Discuss’ question will always involve evaluation, so make sure you say something good
and something bad about it…
Only write one answer if you are asked for one – the second will be ignored in RM questions
even if it a better answer than your first.
Use the number of marks available to help you know how much to write – for a 2 mark
question, you need about 50 words.

Try some of these questions and either mark your own, swap with a friend or hand them
in for some feedback…

ACTIONS
Which questions went well?

What caused problems, or what did you find difficult?

What will you do next time to improve?